Ichizen Sushi & Japanese Cuisine

Reviews

• Jenna S.

  star star star star star 5 July 2026

  Food was delicious!! Sesame Chicken Bento was so so yummy and it came with salad, tempura, gyoza, Cali roll, rice, and chicken!! (And miso soup)! The miso soup is very flavorful and tasty.
  
  I enjoyed the Agedashi Tofu and Crunchy Roll!! Everything was very delicious
  
  Great service. The waiters and owners are very friendly.

• Kim C.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 1 July 2026

  I have probably patroned this place at least 12 times. The bento boxes are a great deal and are delicious. However, the customer service sometimes is a bit lacking. For example, one afternoon I wanted to treat my father to lunch. There were two other tables of patrons seated. The young girl sat us right next to one of the occupied tables. My dad asked that we move down one table, since that table had a young toddler that was full of energy and noise.
  The girl said  "that we prefer you sit at the original table". The restaurant was empty. Why was this an issue? So my dad said, "ok lets go". The Asian woman who is the manager, asked what was wrong, but didn't apologize.
  The other times were little events, that I chose to just let go on. But today broke the camel's back.
  Today my fiance and I come in. We were sat at a good spot and our waiter was kind young man. My fiance ordered the salmon bento box. I asked the same manager which sushi roll is this pictured on the menu? It was a bright red roll with avocado. She said red dragon. I will take that, please.
  My fiance's salmon bento comes and it's good. Eventually my roll comes and the fish is light pink. Not the bright red of a fresh tuna. I am disappointed, but decide to try a piece. I tried it on it's own with no soy, wasabi, etc. NO BUENO!
  I quietly tell the young man to take it back and remove from check. He asked what was wrong? I said the fish is not as fresh as I would like. I don't want a replacement, just take it back. Everything else is good.
  So he takes it back but the manager stops him and asked what was wrong.
  She thens comes to our table with the rolls and asks what is wrong. I tell her the same as I did the waiter. She starts to raise her voice and ramble. I told her maam, we're good with everything else. Just take it back and lets not make a scene.
  This time the place had at least 8 other customers in there. They all stopped and watched while she had a melt down. I told her to please stop making a spectacle and embarrassing yourself. You will never convince me that this is fresh tuna.
  She continues to ramble while going towards the register but is not getting our check ready. I tell my fiance to lets go to her, pay for the food we ate and leave. While printing receipt she is still raising her voice and rambling. My fiance pays for food and leaves no tip.
  Never again will we return. I have never seen a manager bring attention to a situation the way she did. Instead of being discreet, she embarrasses herself and staff.
  I have brought several friends and co-workers there. I will be sharing this disappointment with them all.

• Janet T.

  star star star star star_border 30 June 2026

  I really love the food here and the service too!
  But there's a new waittress that seems nice but, I wish she was more proactive like the guy waiters. She hasn't asked me if I needed anything?
  
  I always like to order the salmon sashimi bowl.
  
  Today, I had to do an oil change at Evans and got hungry so I ordered the salmon teriyaki Bento box.

• Shelby S.

  star star star star star 26 June 2026

  This place was AMAZING got the teriyaki chicken bento box for lunch. Came with these really good tempura mixed veggies. The price was very reasonable for the lunch special. The food was really fresh and delicious. They were kind and attentive. Will be returning and recommending.

• Bridget H.

  star star star star star_border 25 June 2026

  Came here for dinner and ordered 3 of the sushi combos, tempura appetizer, and a half house salad. Since this isn't a sushi specific place, I'm giving it a calibrated review!
  
  We ordered:
  5 piece shrimp tempura
  1/2 house salad
  5 piece nigiri and California roll combo
  Salmon lovers combo
  5 piece nigiri and 6 piece sashimi combo
  
  Shrimp tempura was nice and crispy though the batter was a little thick. The dipping sauce was flavorful and light.
  
  House salad had generous dressing and was pretty standard. The 1/2 size was larger than I expected and was definitely shareable with 3 people.
  
  The nigiri pieces came with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, yellowtail belly and shrimp. Each piece was pretty large: big slab of fish with a pretty big wad of rice. The fish quality was pretty good, each piece melted in my mouth. However since the rice was just okay and there was a lot of it I feel like it somewhat overwhelmed the nigiri. I do appreciate the thick cuts of fish but the sheer size of each nigiri made it difficult to eat in one bite.
  
  Similar to the nigiri pieces, the sashimi was also thick cut. The combo came with the usual tuna, salmon and yellowtail holy grail trio.
  
  All of the cut rolls and hand roll we had as part of the combos had quite a bit of rice too. The rice ratio was definitely heavy, not my usual preference.
  
  In summary:
  - rice heavy sushi and hand rolls
  - thick cuts of fish, pretty fresh but not amazing
  - menu has lots of options and everything is well priced!
  
  Ichizen is a solid choice for affordable sushi and Japanese food in the Poway area.